Spirit of Georgetown Honors ‘Mother of GMC’
By • October 17, 2023 0 1028
The Georgetown Ministry Center honored longtime GMC employee Dolores Jackson with the Spirit of Georgetown Award Oct. 4 at the offices of King & Spalding at 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW with its lofty view of the White House area.
After a blessing at the reception by Rev. Tim Cole of Christ Church, GMC Executive Director Kelly Andreae spoke before introducing the awardee: “I am so happy to share that through your generous support we have raised over $175,000 towards ending homelessness one person at a time. Community members like you see beyond the stereotypes, and invest in the dignity, humanity and basic human rights of our unhoused neighbors. In the past year, 85 GMC guests have been matched to housing vouchers.
“Despite these amazing strides towards housing folks, the need keeps growing. GMC has seen the number of individuals accessing services double year over year. This is a very concerning trend, as pandemic era community supports expire. And the tidal wave of homelessness that many of us feared in 2020, seems to not have been stopped, only delayed. The respite of safety and hope that GMC provides is needed now more than ever. Fortunately, we have some new programming planned for 2024 that will support the needs of our guests as they move towards permanent housing.
“The people who do that work, to make GMC a safe and welcoming place are our amazing staff and volunteers who provide coffee and compassion starting in the early hours of every morning. There is one special person on our team who has devoted her life to bringing love to the places and people who are often overlooked. Her own lived experience makes the connections she has with our guests authentic. … It is my honor and privilege to award the 2023 Spirit of Georgetown Award to Delores Jackson for her dedication to GMC’s guests and ending homelessness one person at a time.”
For her part, Jackson gave a heartfelt thank you to all, with those in the room feeling the love of her life story.
Teddy Sullivan, Kelly Andreae, Veronica Watson-Freeman, Nyya Gilchrist, Delores Jackson, Ricca Ballard, Ben Zack, Taylor Bush and Rebecca Kellett. Photo by Evan Cain.
GMC board co-chairs Ron Castaldi and Amanda Klingler. Photo by Evan Cain.
